Auto repair quote platform

ABSTRACT

An auto repair quote platform may be provided. The platform may allow a user to enter a set of parameters and request quotes from service providers based on those parameters. Service providers may also enter parameters for matching their quotes to a request. The platform may further allow a user to accept a quote and schedule an appointment with the chosen service provider.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/574,696, filed Sep. 18, 2019; U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/612,181, filed Jun. 2, 2017; and U.S. Provisional Application No.62/344,507, filed Jun. 2, 2016, the contents of which are hereinincorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

Consumers seeking to have their vehicle serviced or repaired are oftenfrustrated by a large degree of uncertainty about how much the work theywould like to have done will cost. They often find that repair costestimates for the work vary widely between vehicle repair shops, and theestimates they receive might vary significantly from the actual cost ofthe repairs. Further, such estimates are often not immediately availableto the consumer; they may need to call into a repair shop and have aconversation with a mechanic about their problem, or may even need totake in the vehicle to each repair shop to have it looked at before anestimate will be given. Because it would be extremely time-intensive fora consumer in need of vehicle repair work to solicit estimates—much lessdo some level of background research about the repair shop theysolicited the estimate from to ensure that it is accurate—consumersoften must settle for paying significantly more than they couldotherwise pay to have work done on their vehicles.

Some services have attempted to address this problem. For example, someweb interfaces have been able to make available to consumers a range ofestimates for a particular service, so that consumers can at leastattempt to identify a good deal. Others provide users with informationabout how to identify the potential sources of the problem and importantsymptoms that they should look for, potentially streamlining the processof soliciting estimates from many different firms. However, consumersstill do not have a service available to them that allows them toaccurately search for and compare quotes, not estimates, from a numberof different repair shops in their area without manually collecting thequotes from all of the different shops themselves.

SUMMARY

An auto repair quote platform may be provided. The platform may allow auser to enter a set of parameters and request quotes from serviceproviders based on those parameters. Service providers may also enterparameters for matching their quotes to a request. The platform mayfurther allow a user to accept a quote and schedule an appointment withthe chosen service provider.

Such a method may comprise: storing, on a server, for each of aplurality of automotive service providers, a service provided by theautomotive service provider, and quote information provided by theautomotive service provider and corresponding to that particularservice, wherein each stored service is selected from a set ofpredefined services, and wherein the quote information is individual toeach automotive service provider; maintaining, by the server, anaggregator database of updated available service provider appointmentdata that is associated with and individual to each automotive serviceprovider, wherein maintaining the database comprises: receiving, by theserver, scheduling information for an automotive service provider, saidautomotive service provider scheduling information being provided in theform of available unfilled timeslots and automotive service provideroperating hours, storing, by the server, in the aggregator database, thereceived automotive service provider scheduling information, andassociating the received automotive service provider schedulinginformation with an automotive service provider, receiving, by theserver, new automotive service provider scheduling informationindicating a booked appointment, and updating, by the server, theavailable service provider appointment data in the aggregator databaseby modifying at least one unfilled timeslot to a filled timeslotindicating the booked appointment; receiving, by the server and from auser interface, a service request from a customer identifying a serviceselected from the set of predefined services; processing, by the server,the service request, for each automotive service provider having theidentified service stored in the aggregator database, wherein processingcomprises: generating, from the stored automotive service providerscheduling information, a plurality of individual start times,displaying, on the user interface, the plurality of individual starttimes, and determining if there is quote information corresponding tothe identified service and the selected automotive service provider, andif so displaying said quote information on the user interface;receiving, on the server, a customer-selected automotive serviceprovider and a customer-selected start time; and booking a serviceappointment at the customer-selected automotive service provider at thecustomer-selected start time and for the identified service request,wherein booking comprises: receiving, by the server and from a userinterface, a customer address for an electronic communication, sending,via the server, an electronic communication providing information on theappointment, and updating the available service provider appointmentdata in the aggregator database by modifying at least one unfilledtimeslot to a filled timeslot indicating the booked appointment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Advantages of embodiments of the present invention will be apparent fromthe following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments. Thefollowing detailed description should be considered in conjunction withthe accompanying figures in which:

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 4A shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 4B shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 6A shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 6B shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 6C shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 7 shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 8 shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 9A shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 9B shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 10 shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 11 shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 12 shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 13A shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 13B shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 14 shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 15A shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 15B shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 15C shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 16A shows an exemplary “light switch” interface.

FIG. 16B shows an exemplary “light switch” interface.

FIG. 17A shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 17B shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 17C shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 18A shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 18B shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 18C shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 19 shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 20 shows an exemplary flow chart of a quote request and acceptance.

FIG. 21 shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 22 shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 23 shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 24 shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 25 shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 26 shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 27A shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 27B shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 28 shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 29 shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 30A shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 30B shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 31 shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 32 shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 33A shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 33B shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 33C shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 34 shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 35 shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 36 shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

FIG. 37 shows an exemplary graphical user interface.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the present invention are disclosed in the followingdescription and related figures directed to specific embodiments of theinvention. Those skilled in the art will recognize that alternateembodiments may be devised without departing from the spirit or thescope of the claims. Additionally, well-known elements of exemplaryembodiments of the invention will not be described in detail or will beomitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the invention.

As used herein, the word “exemplary” means “serving as an example,instance or illustration.” The embodiments described herein are notlimiting, but rather are exemplary only. It should be understood thatthe described embodiments are not necessarily to be construed aspreferred or advantageous over other embodiments. Moreover, the terms“embodiments of the invention”, “embodiments” or “invention” do notrequire that all embodiments of the invention include the discussedfeature, advantage or mode of operation.

Further, many of the embodiments described herein may be described interms of sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, elementsof a computing device. It should be recognized by those skilled in theart that the various sequence of actions described herein can beperformed by specific circuits (e.g., application specific integratedcircuits (ASICs)) and/or by program instructions executed by at leastone processor. Additionally, the sequence of actions described hereincan be embodied entirely within any form of computer-readable storagemedium such that execution of the sequence of actions enables theprocessor to perform the functionality described herein. Thus, thevarious aspects of the present invention may be embodied in a number ofdifferent forms, all of which have been contemplated to be within thescope of the claimed subject matter. In addition, for each of theembodiments described herein, the corresponding form of any suchembodiments may be described herein as, for example, “a computerconfigured to” perform the described action.

According to an exemplary embodiment, an auto repair quote platform maybe provided. The platform may provide users with quotes from specificservice providers and may connect users and service providers toestablish appointments. The system may utilize software implemented by aprocessor configured to perform the functions described herein. In someexemplary embodiments, the system may be a web-based platform and mayrun on cloud-based infrastructure. This may allow the platform to bescaled as required. The system may further include at least one databaseserver optionally containing user information, vehicle and partsinformation, repair shop information, and/or parts supplier information.Various parties may interact with the system over a network, such asusers, repair shops, and parts suppliers. Users may refer to individualsor entities seeking repair services for a vehicle. These parties mayinteract with the system through specific user interfaces, includingwebsites, software applications, and mobile software applications. Thesystem may further be integrated with users' social networking accounts.In a web-interface embodiment, there may be separate login capabilitiesfor the different parties, such as users and shop owners.

Referring to the Figures generally, a user may optionally create anaccount, which may include a login to access the platform. The user mayenter desired identifying information and contact information, such asan e-mail address or phone number, which may be used to confirmselections and interactions made through the platform. In someembodiments, a user may be able to use the platform without a login. Inembodiments without a login, the user's historical data, such as theuser's vehicle information, may not be saved.

In operation, a user may enter a set of parameters, which may defineresults presented through the platform. These parameters may includevehicle information, geographic information, desired service or repairinformation, timing information, pricing information, and other relevantinformation as would be understood by a person having ordinary skill inthe art. Once desired parameters have been established, the platform mayreturn a list of results comporting with the parameters. The results mayinclude a price quote for performing the desired repair or services. Thequote may be a definite price, not an estimate or price range. The usermay compare the quotes and the shops offering them and may optionallyaccept a quote.

Detailed functions and capabilities provided by the platform may bedescribed with reference to exemplary user interfaces of the platform asfollows.

Referring to exemplary FIG. 1, an exemplary graphical user interfacerequesting a client to identify a vehicle and a desired service orrepair (“GUI”) 100 may be provided. According to an exemplaryembodiment, upon navigating to the interface, a user may be presented apage similar to that provided in FIG. 1. GUI 100 may prompt the user toselect a car 102, to select a desired service or repair 104, and to thensee quotes from a number of auto repair shops in their local area 106.Optionally, the GUI 100 may provide the user with a list of all of thevehicles that they have registered with the site 108, and may providethe user with a list of all of the auto repair shops offering a desiredservice and located within a desired area 110.

GUI 100 may also prompt a user to enter login information for the site,such as an email address or username and a password. If the user doesnot have any login information for the site, the GUI 100 may prompt theuser to create some, as well as entering any other details that may benecessary for the user to use the site. The GUI 100 may be linked to adatabase that stores the user's login information as well as informationthat the user may be capable of inputting in some embodiments, such asthe user's name, the user's location, the list of vehicles that the userowns or has owned (the user's “garage”), any other contact informationlinked to the user, and any payment information linked to the user. Whena user enters their login information, the GUI 100 software may retrievethis information from the database and populate the list of the user'svehicles 108 from the records of the user's garage, and populate thelist of auto repair shops in the user's area 110 from the records of theuser's location and the records of auto repair shops in that area.

Referring now to exemplary FIG. 2, an exemplary GUI 200 may display alist of the user's saved vehicles and request that they enter any newvehicle information if any is available. According to one exemplaryembodiment, saved vehicles 202 may be displayed as a list near the topof the GUI 200; the list of saved vehicles 202 may include the vehicles'make, model, year, color, recent service history, or any other pertinentinformation, and may include a picture of the vehicle or of a closematch to the vehicle, for example another vehicle of the same make andmodel.

GUI 200 may also allow the user to select a new vehicle to be repairedor serviced, for example through a menu or from a set of icons 204.According to an embodiment in which a user is presented with a set oficons 204, icons may be presented in stages, and a first set of icons204 may indicate the manufacturer of the vehicle in question. Clickingon the icons 204 may lead the user to a second set of icons or inputs,which may allow the user to specify more specific information abouttheir vehicle. For example, if a user has a 2013 BMW 328 i, they mayfirst select the “BMW” icon from the set of icons displaying vehiclemanufacturer logos 204, which may then cause the GUI 200 to display aset of BMW vehicle models that a user may select from.

Referring now to exemplary FIG. 3, an exemplary GUI 300 may display alist of the vehicles made by a manufacturer 302 and may further presenta list of years that the vehicle model selected was made 304. Forexample, in this particular case, the selected model, the Acura MDX 4WD,was manufactured from 2000 to the current time, and has model years from2001 to the present. A user may be able to select any year from 2001 tothe present 304, causing the GUI 300 to retrieve from a database a listof models produced by Acura in that year that includes the MDX 4WD. Allother models produced in that year, for example the year 2006 as is thecase in FIG. 3, may be displayed alongside it 302. Alternatively, a usermay select the model of the vehicle 302 first, and then the year 304;for example, a user may be able to select the MDX 4WD, and may then beshown and may be able to select from any of the years in which the MDX4WD was manufactured.

As shown in exemplary FIG. 4A-4B, a menu 402 of available repairs 404may be presented to a user through interface 400. The repairs shown mayonly be repairs that are immediately available for a quote within theparameters entered by the user. For example, if no shop within ageographic parameter is currently offering alternator replacement, thatservice may not be presented in the menu. In some alternative exemplaryembodiments, alternator replacement may still be presented in the menu,however, when selected the platform may return zero results.Additionally, an input for viewing and selecting from previous repairs410 may be presented through interface 400. In some further embodiments,additional information 420 about menu options may be presented when auser's curser hovers over a menu item or selects an item.

Now referring to exemplary FIG. 5, an interface 500 may be shown once aservice has been selected. Interface 500 may allow a user to enteridentifying/contact information, geographic information, and any otherinformation or notes to be submitted with the inquiry. While the usermay input identifying/contact information, such as an e-mail address, atthis stage, it may still be withheld from service providers until aftera service provider appointment has been selected by the user. Once auser has entered the desired information, the user may select a send orsubmit button to initiate the inquiry.

As shown in exemplary FIG. 6A-6C, an interface 600 may provide resultsto the user. The results may be in the form of a list of quotes.Interface 600 may further show a request identifier, requestinformation, vehicle information, service/repair information, a pricerange encompassing all of the quotes, the number of quotes, and adescription of what is included in the quote. There may also be an iconor button for refreshing the results. As shown in FIGS. 6B and 6C, eachquote may optionally include the name of the service provider, the quoteprice, a description of the services, an address and contact informationfor the service provider, a customer rating for the service provider,and a link to view the service provider on a map. In some furtherexemplary embodiments a quote may include an image of the serviceprovider. A user may also be able to select a button or icon to viewadditional service provider information, which may include promotionalinformation created by the service provider, statistical data, and otherdesired information, as would be understood by a person having ordinaryskill in the art. In some embodiments, the link or icon may be the imageof the service provider shop. Each quote may also include an acceptancelink or icon for accepting a quote.

Once a quote has been accepted, a user may be directed to an appointmentselection interface 700. In an exemplary embodiment, the appointmentselection interface 700 may show time slots when a service provider isavailable to accept an appointment. The service provider may maintainthe availability so that a user can book, change, or cancel anappointment in real time. In some embodiments, the appointment selectioninterface 700 may appear as a calendar view with days divided intotimeslots of a desired duration. The duration of each timeslot or numberof timeslots booked for each service may vary for different services.

Exemplary FIG. 8 may show a confirmation window for a bookedappointment. Additionally, a user may be sent a confirmation message 900providing information on the appointment, as shown in exemplary FIG.9A-9B. Message 900 may be sent in the form of an e-mail, text message,or other comparable message format as would be understood by a personhaving ordinary skill in the art.

If a user desires to modify or cancel an appointment, the user mayreturn to the appointment selection interface 700, as shown in FIG. 10.Here, interface 700 may show the current appointment selection and mayallow the user to deselect, or uncheck, the appointment time andoptionally select a new appointment time.

Now referring to exemplary FIG. 11-13B, a user's home interface 1100 mayshow their “garage”, which may include any vehicles they have previouslyrequested quotes for. A user may select a vehicle from the garage toview all requests made for that vehicle. A user may be presented withpast and/or present service requests. For present service requests, aninterface 1200 may show the service requested and, if applicable, theselected service provider and any appointment details. The user mayadditionally be provided a comment interface to add a comment to theservice request, which may be viewed by a service provider. A user mayalso be provided an icon or link to access the quote details. Yetfurther, a user may be provided an icon or link to access theappointment calendar interface 1300 to view, modify, or cancel theappointment. The calendar interface 1300 may also optionally present adepiction 1350 of the service provider's shop front for recognition andassessment by a user.

Now referring to exemplary FIG. 14-15C, a service provider may accessthe platform through a shop owner section 1410. A service provider maycustomize the service provider profile and pricing information throughan interface 1500. Profile information may include additional sellingstatements or information on the shop, which may be accessed by a useras referenced above in relation to FIG. 6A-6C. Interface 1500 may show anumber of quotes sent and a number of appointments booked. Interface1500 may also include a price calculator, through which the serviceprovider may input an hourly rate, a parts markup, and a supply charge.In addition to the price calculator, the service provider may set pricesfor a menu of flat fee services. Interface 1500 may show details andfrequency for each flat fee service to assist the service provider insetting a price. The service provider may also reference the ratio ofappointments booked to quotes sent in order to determine a competitiveprice.

In exemplary FIG. 16A-16B, a “light switch” interface 1600, or secondaryinterface, through which a service provider may select repairs to offerand adjust prices, may be provided. The light switch interface 1600 mayprovide a set list of services that may make up a core offering forservice providers. A service provider may also input an hourly rate, aparts markup, and a shop supply fee through interface 1600. In anexemplary embodiment, interface 1600 may be presented as a spreadsheet.A service provider may view the menu of services and turn the serviceson or off. In other words, the service provider may choose to offer aquote for that service when a user submits a service request or notoffer a quote. In addition, the service provider may adjust the price ofeach service through interface 1600. Interface 1600 may presentadditional parameters that a service provider may select to limit oradjust quotes that are sent on behalf of the service provider. Forexample, a service provider may select certain vehicle manufacturers,models, or years that they choose to provide repairs or service for.

As referenced above, a service provider may view a number ofappointments booked and a number of quotes sent through interface 1500.The service provider may select the appointments booked icon or thequotes sent icon to view a more in depth breakdown. An in depth quotebreakdown interface 1700 may be presented in FIG. 17B-17C. The vehicle,service/repair, and price may be shown. A date and time may also beshown. The breakdown interface 1700 may further show cumulative data,including a total dollar amount of quotes sent. Customer information,such as contact information, may not be given to a service provideruntil a quote has been accepted by the customer.

Now referring to exemplary FIG. 18A-18C, an appointment breakdowninterface 1800 may be provided. An appointment breakdown interface 1800may be accessed through interface 1500 as discussed above. Appointmentbreakdown interface 1800 may show each accepted appointment and mayinclude the vehicle, the service or repair, the distance from the shop,the appointment details and identifying information of thecustomer/user. A service provider may also access their appointmentcalendar 1900 through an icon or link displayed on appointment breakdowninterface 1800. In some exemplary embodiments, a service provider and acustomer/user may converse through a comment interface 1810, which maybe viewed by a service provider through interface 1800. A user mayaccess the comment interface 1810 through interface 1200 shown anddescribed in relation to exemplary FIG. 12.

A service provider's appointment calendar 1900 may be shown in exemplaryFIG. 19. The service provider may view their accepted appointmentsthrough the appointment calendar 1900. In some embodiments, the serviceprovider may be able to modify or cancel accepted appointments throughcalendar 1900. The service provider may also block out 1910 appointmenttimes as unavailable through calendar 1900. This may prevent acustomer/user from selecting an appointment time that conflicts with aservice provider's desired schedule.

Additional parameters may be set by users and service providers, aswould be understood by a person having ordinary skill in the art. Forexample, a user and/or service provider may select a geographicaldistance or range within which to obtain quotes or send quotes.

In some further exemplary embodiments, the platform may interact withparts suppliers, automatically (or otherwise, such as semi-automaticallybased on user confirmation) ordering parts required for a service orrepair to the service provider when a user selects the service provider.The parts may therefore be shipped to the service provider withoutrequiring any action by the service provider, which may reduce timespent by the service provider and reduce delays in completing theservice.

The ability to view a variety of quotes, view all available appointmenttimes, and book an appointment without conversing with a representativeof the service provider makes it possible to view and assess moreinformation in a plausible amount of time. Additionally, serviceproviders may utilize the platform to compare rates with competitors andtherefore efficiently establish competitive rates in their marketplace.

As shown in exemplary FIG. 20, a quote review and acceptance may broadlyprogress through the platform as follows. Intervening steps andselections may be present in an exemplary embodiment, as discussedthrough the present description. A user may select a vehicle 2010. Theuser may then select a repair 2020. A user may optionally enteradditional parameters 2030. A platform server may search a database forservice provider quotes matching the parameters 2040. Next, the platformmay return matching quotes to the user 2050. The user may review andaccept a quote 2060. Then, the user may schedule an appointment throughthe platform 2070. The service provider may be notified of the scheduleappointment 2080. A parts supplier may also optionally be notified 2090,which may trigger sending of required parts to the service provider.

Turning now to exemplary FIG. 21, an exemplary graphical user interfacerequesting a client to identify a vehicle and a desired service orrepair (“GUI”) 2100 may be provided. According to an exemplaryembodiment, upon navigating to the interface, a user may be presented apage similar to that provided in FIG. 21. GUI 2100 may prompt the userto select a vehicle based on certain vehicle criteria, such as the make2102, model 2106, and year 2104 of the vehicle. In an exemplaryembodiment, GUI 2100 may also prompt a user to input information aboutthe user's location 2108 so that a more geographically-tailored set ofresults may be provided to the user; for example, according to anexemplary embodiment, the GUI 2100 may request information about theuser's ZIP code, and may provide results in or near to the user's ZIPcode or to a point within that ZIP code.

In an exemplary embodiment, other features may be provided by the GUI2100. For example, according to an exemplary embodiment, GUI 2100 mayprovide a user with an option to request a live chat 2110. In anexemplary embodiment, upon selecting this option, a user may beredirected to a page having contact information of one or more mechanicswho may be contacted via live chat; for example, a phone number orinstant messaging address for the one or more mechanics may be provided.In another exemplary embodiment, a user may be directly connected via achat protocol to one or more mechanics. In an exemplary embodiment, theoption to request a live chat 2110 with a mechanic may specifically drawfrom known location information about the user, or may request locationinformation (such as a ZIP code) of the user, and may provide the userwith a connection to the geographically nearest mechanic or a selectionof several geographically nearest mechanics to the user. In anotherembodiment, a live chat feature 2110 may solicit some information fromthe user about the nature of the problem and may attempt to pair theuser with the geographically nearest mechanic known to specialize infixing similar types of problems; for example, in an exemplaryembodiment, a live chat feature 2110 may solicit similar information tothat solicited on the GUI 2100, such as the make, model, and year of theautomobile in question, or may solicit other information, such as ashort description of the problem that a mechanic can briefly researchbefore beginning the chat.

In another exemplary embodiment, a GUI 2100 may have a storefront orpoint-of-sale section or subsection, or may otherwise have a dialogoffering items for sale 2112. For example, according to an exemplaryembodiment, the GUI 2100 may provide users with the ability to purchasereplacement parts, such as tires, or may provide users with thelocations and names of other stores, such as local brick-and-mortarstores or even online storefronts. GUI 2100 may also provide users withthe pricing information of the parts, their availability, or any otherrelevant information, which may be obtained by, for example, scrapingthe appropriate information from the stores provided in the sale dialog2112.

Turning now to exemplary FIG. 22, an exemplary GUI 2200 through which auser may locate and purchase one or more replacement parts, such astires, through one or more physical brick-and-mortar stores that may beassociated with the graphical user interface 2200. In an exemplaryembodiment, a user may be provided with the option to purchase one ormore replacement parts from a physical brick-and-mortar store or from anonline parts vendor or other parts supplier. In an exemplary embodiment,a user may be provided with a comparison, when ordering parts, betweenthe prices and availability of parts sourced from physicalbrick-and-mortar stores and the prices and availability of parts sourcedfrom a parts vendor; this may allow the user to make more informeddecisions about where to source parts, and whether to source parts fromthe physical brick-and-mortar stores nearby (which often will be moreexpensive, but will often be able to provide the part the same day if itis available, allowing the repair to be completed more quickly) or fromthe parts vendor (which often will be less expensive, but may require anextended period of time for shipping that may be undesirable).

In an exemplary embodiment, a user may be provided with a search dialogthat may allow the user to locate tires in a specific desired size. Thismay include, for example, a search bar in which the user can input tiresize information 2204, or another selection tool in which a user canselect the appropriate tire size. Search dialog may also include, forexample, a location selector 2206, which may allow the system to provideresults including stores having a close physical proximity to the user.Search dialog may include one or more example tire sizes 2202, forexample for specific vehicles or kinds of vehicles. In an exemplaryembodiment, a user may provide information on one or more vehicles thatthey own to the graphical user interface 2200, or may be prompted tosupply such information to the graphical user interface 2200, and thestandard tire sizes of these vehicles may be provided as examples 2202.

Turning now to exemplary FIG. 23, an exemplary GUI 2300 may include achat window 2302 or another chat feature by which a user may be able toperform live chat with a mechanic or other expert or representative.Chat feature may include, for example, an identification of the mechanic2304, a display of past dialog in the chat 2306, and an option to enternew information 2308. A user may also have the option to interact withthe GUI 2300 by, for example, sharing material from the GUI 2300 onsocial media 2310.

Turning now to exemplary FIG. 24, an exemplary GUI 2400 may include oneor more repairs 2404 or other activities for which a quote may besolicited. In an exemplary embodiment, repairs 2404 may be separated outinto broader categories 2402; for example, according to an exemplaryembodiment, a user may be presented with a number of “maintenance”repairs for which they can solicit quotes, all under a “maintenance” tabproviding a list of available options. According to an exemplaryembodiment, a user may also have the option to request a quote for, orotherwise request help with, a type of repair or activity that is notprovided as a preset option; a user may exercise this option by, forexample, selecting a help dialog 2406.

Turning now to exemplary FIG. 25, a GUI 2500 providing one or morequotes 2502 for a specific repair or activity to be completed may beprovided. In an exemplary embodiment, once a user has selected one ormore repairs or other activities to be completed, a GUI 2500 may displaya quote 2502 as well as the repairs or activities to be completed, aswell as one or more vehicles to which they are to be applied. A list ofshops 2504 in the surrounding area that offer the repairs or activitiesto be completed and which have provided quotes for the service (forexample, full quotes including all parts and labor) may be displayed.The list of shops 2504 may also be displayed on a map 2506 or othervisualization, if desired.

Turning now to exemplary FIG. 26, a GUI 2600 may display an interfacethrough which a shop owner may prove their credentials, which may, forexample, be a login screen 2602. In order to obtain credentials,according to an exemplary embodiment, a shop owner may first be vettedby an operator of the auto repair quote platform system 2604; this mayrequire, for example, a personal visit from the operator to the shopowner to audit their practices, or any other vetting method, as desired.

Turning now to exemplary FIG. 27A, a GUI 2700 may display an exemplaryembodiment of a dashboard system that may be provided to a shop ownerthat has provided proper authentication. Dashboard may include, forexample, a display of recent activity 2702, which may summarize recentinteractions that customers or others have had with the ship; this mayinclude, for example, quotes that have been recently solicited, or otherinformation, as desired. Dashboard may also include a summary display2706, which may depict, for example, a sum total of the value of all ofthe quotes that have been issued for the shop over its lifetime (or atleast the time on which the shop has been associated with the autorepair quote platform), or may display the value of the quotes that havebeen issued within a particular period of time, for example a month.

Dashboard may also include a list of navigation links 2704, throughwhich users may be able to navigate to other parts of the dashboard. Forexample, navigation links 2704 may include a link to the home dashboardpage (“Dashboard”), a link to a location in which a user can managetheir shop's offered services on the auto repair quote platform (“MyShop”), a link to a location in which a user can manage their shop'ssales and marketing information provided on the auto repair quoteplatform (“Sales Management”), a link to a location in which a user canmanage the instant quotes they have stored on the auto repair quoteplatform that are associated with their shop (“Instant Quote”), a linkto an alternative location in which a user can manage the instant quotesthey have stored on the auto repair quote platform that are associatedwith their shop and which offers different functionality to the firstsuch location (“Instant Quote II”), a link to a location in which areport can be generated to provide information about the activityassociated with the user's shop on the auto repair quote platform(“Reports”), and a link to a location in which a user can manage theiruser profile or user preferences (“My User Profile”). Additionalfunctionality may be available to an administrator of the auto repairquote platform, who may have the option to make alterations to thegraphical user interfaces 2700 shown to other users (“ARC SystemPreferences”), or may have the option to manage the users permitted touse the auto repair quote platform and add or remove users (“ARC UserManagement”). This may be done, for example, after a shop has beenaudited by the auto repair quote platform administrator; in such ascenario, a user account may be created for an owner of the shop toallow them to establish a presence on the auto repair quote platform.

Turning now to exemplary FIG. 27B, the dashboard interface 2700 mayoffer a display of recent activity icon 2702 that, when hovered over orotherwise interacted with, allows a user to select a term of recentactivity 2708, such as a week, a month, a year, or another time period,if desired. In an exemplary embodiment, the recent activity icon 2702may be updated to reflect the specification of the user and desired timeperiod.

Turning now to exemplary FIG. 28, an exemplary dashboard interface mayshow an exemplary screen in which a user may be able to edit a shopprofile 2802. In an embodiment, a user may be able to categorize theshop as a specific type of shop, based on, for example, the types ofgoods and services that may be provided by the shop. In an exemplaryembodiment, a user may be able to select from a list of categoriesincluding a “regular shop,” a “tire shop,” and a “transmission shop,”and may be able to specify one of those categories by user selectionthrough a categorization dialog 2804. Other categories of shop, such asan “instant quote shop” or a “parts shop,” or any other shops that acustomer or a user of the dashboard may be able to interact with, mayalso be added through this dialog 2804; for example, adding a “partsshop” to the dashboard may increase the range of options that a shopowner using the dashboard may have available to them for ordering parts.A user may also be able to manually specify or edit information providedabout the shop, for example by entering or editing the information inone or a plurality of text fields 2806, if desired.

Turning now to exemplary FIG. 29, an exemplary dashboard interface 2900may show an exemplary screen in which a user may be able to specifycertain information relating to pricing in their shop. According to anexemplary embodiment, a user managing a particular shop profile 2902 maybe able to specify, for the shop profile 2902, one or more generalprices or rates for their shop 2904, which may include, for example, anhourly rate, a part markup, a supply charge, the number of certifiedmechanics that are available in the shop, the number of years the shophas been in business, the standard parts warranty provided by the shop,the standard labor warranty provided by the shop, and any otherinformation that may be of relevance. A user may also have the abilityto enter other information, such as a shop biography, in a text box2906, which may cause the text to be displayed on a shop profile page.In an exemplary embodiment, some of this information may be interpretedby the auto repair quote platform and may affect the profile of the shopthat may be presented to a user; for example, in an exemplary embodimentwherein a shop has three certified mechanics available in the shop, theauto repair quote platform may allow a maximum of three customers tobook appointments with the shop at any one time interval.

Turning now to exemplary FIG. 30A, an exemplary dashboard interface 3000may show an exemplary screen in which a user may be able to specifycertain information relating to the pricing and availability ofparticular services that may be offered by a shop. According to anexemplary embodiment, a list of services recognized by the auto repairquote platform may be provided to a user managing a shop profile onbehalf of a shop. An exemplary list of services may include, forexample, a title of the service and a description of what it entails3004, and an option to enable or disable the service 3002, which may beused to associate or disassociate a particular shop profile with aparticular service, and may be used to indicate to the auto repair quotesystem that a particular shop does or does not provide the service inquestion), and an option to provide a fixed price for the service 3006.In an exemplary embodiment, a shop may also be able to select to providethe service for free, for example by specifying a cost of zero or byselecting an “offer for free” option. In another exemplary embodiment, ashop may be able to provide logic, such as “buy one get one free” logic,in which the service will be provided for free or at a different costthan normal, after which the auto repair quote system may incorporatethat logic into the shop's profile.

Turning now to exemplary FIG. 30B, an exemplary dashboard interface 3000may show, in addition to a list of services, a list of vehicle makes3008 that may be worked on by the shop. A user managing a shop profilemay enable or disable any of the vehicle makes provided in the list,which may indicate that the shop does or does not provide servicing ofthat particular make of vehicle. In an exemplary embodiment, otherinformation, such as model and year information, may also be availablefor a user managing a shop profile to specify. According to an exemplaryembodiment, a user may also be able to pair specific makes, models,years, or other identifying information, and particular services thatmay be offered by the shop, which may be used to indicate that the shopprovides certain services to particular kinds of vehicles, or does notprovide certain services to particular kinds of vehicles.

Turning now to exemplary FIG. 31, an exemplary dashboard interface 3100may provide an administrator or other user of an auto repair quoteplatform with the option to add additional shops to the auto repairquote platform 3102. For example, according to an exemplary embodiment,an administrator of an auto repair quote platform may be able to selecta type of shop to be added 3106, or may be able to input a type of shopto be added 3106, such as an instant quote shop/diagnostic shop or apart shop, if the desired type of shop is not available for them toselect. An administrator or other user may be able to specify otherinformation about the shop to be added 3108. Other information 3110 mayalso be available to be specified, if desired. Other steps may also benecessary in order to add a shop to the auto repair quote platform, orto make the shop visible on a public version of the auto repair quoteplatform; for example, according to an exemplary embodiment, contactinformation for the shop, such as an email address or a phone number,may have to be provided for the shop, and the shop may have to providetheir consent to allow the shop to be listed on a public version of theauto repair quote platform.

In an exemplary embodiment, the auto repair quote platform may alsoprovide recommendations 3104 to an auto repair quote platformadministrator as to shops that may be added to the auto repair quoteplatform. For example, in an exemplary embodiment, the auto repair quoteplatform may be configured to look for gaps in coverage, which may forexample include areas in which there is no saved shop within a certaindistance, or no saved shop that provides a particular service within acertain distance. The auto repair quote platform may then be configuredto provide alerts as to these gaps in coverage or underserved areas, orotherwise try to fill the gaps in coverage. For example, in FIG. 31, theauto repair quote platform has indicated to the auto repair quoteplatform administrator to “please add a tire shop” 3104, which may bebased on, for example, no or few tire shops having been added within thesurrounding area.

Turning now to exemplary FIG. 32, an exemplary dashboard interface 3200may provide an administrator of an auto repair quote platform with theoption to manage the advertising images or other images associated witheach shop. In an exemplary embodiment, an administrator may first beprovided with the option to browse for one or more shops to be managed3202. For example, in an exemplary embodiment, the dashboard interface3200 may provide an administrator with the option to search through someor all of the saved shops associated with the dashboard interface 3204;for example, an administrator may be able to search a list of associatedshops by searching a list of saved shops by the name of the shop or bythe contact information, such as the contact name or contact emailaddress, of a contact associated with the shop. In another exemplaryembodiment, an administrator may be able to search for or browse a listof images by, for example, entering an image to be searched or certainattributes of the image to be searched. An administrator may then beable to manage the images that are associated with a searched shop, orwhich are otherwise stored and searchable. In another exemplaryembodiment, other data other than images, such as sound or video clips,may also be associated with a particular shop, and may likewise besearched and managed.

Turning now to exemplary FIG. 33A, an exemplary dashboard interface 3300may provide an administrator or other user of the dashboard with theoption to set a specific quote value for a particular vehicle and/orrepair service 3302. In an exemplary embodiment, an administrator orshop owner may create the quote by selecting one or more attributes 3304of the vehicle that is to be worked on, such as the make of the vehicle,the model of the vehicle, or the model year of the vehicle, and/or oneor more attributes about the nature of the service to be provided, suchas the type of service to be provided, the approximate cost of parts forproviding a service to a specific type of vehicle having a particularmake, model, or year, or the approximate cost of providing labor forsuch a service. In an exemplary embodiment, a selection of the serviceto be provided may also include selection of one or more indications ofhow the service is to be performed. For example, in an exemplaryembodiment, a user or administrator of the exemplary dashboard interface3300 may be able to select from different entries for the same type ofrepair, indicating that the service is to be performed as a typicalrepair, as a priority repair to be undertaken as the soonest availabletime, or as a house call, or as another type of repair or service, asdesired. In another embodiment, a user of the exemplary dashboardinterface 3300 may also be able to specify a particular mechanic or setof mechanics who may be responsible for completing the repair.

An administrator or other user of the dashboard interface 3300 may alsobe able to specify customer information 3306, such as a customer name, acustomer email address, a customer telephone number, or other relevantinformation, such as the hours of the day in which the user can becontacted at that particular telephone number or notes about aparticular customer. The administrator or other user of the dashboardinterface 3300 may then be able to save this information once it hasbeen entered.

In an exemplary embodiment, an administrator or other user of thedashboard interface 3300 may also be able to retrieve customerinformation 3306 on this screen. For example, in an embodiment, anadministrator may have previously saved customer information 3306corresponding to one or more vehicles owned by the customer, or one ormore previous repairs performed on the customer's vehicles, or one ormore notes about such repairs. If the administrator enters some or allof the relevant customer information 3306, such as the customer's name,or selects some or all of the relevant customer information 3306 from alist of past customers, the administrator may then have the option toretrieve the remaining stored customer information 3306, including theinformation about a vehicle belonging to the user. In an exemplaryembodiment, one or more of the attributes saved in the customerinformation 3306 may affect the value of a final customer quote that isprovided by the exemplary dashboard interface 3300; for example, in anexemplary embodiment, customers who have done business with a shop for along time may receive a small discount on services provided to them bythat shop, and this discount may be reflected in a quote provided by theexemplary dashboard interface 3300.

Turning now to exemplary FIG. 33B, once an administrator or other userof the dashboard interface 3300 has entered or selected one or moreattributes 3304 of the service to be performed or the vehicle on whichit is to be performed, the dashboard interface 3300 may displayadditional information. For example, in an exemplary embodiment, anadministrator has entered, for the attributes in question 3304, that avehicle to be worked on is a 2006 model Acura MDX 4WD, and that thisvehicle requires an alternator replacement. Based on this information, aquote for the parts and labor costs involved in fixing the alternatormay be generated 3308. In an exemplary embodiment, a quote 3308 that isprovided to an administrator or user may provide a specific dollar valuefor the parts and labor costs. However, in an exemplary embodiment, theprecise value of the parts and labor involved in making a specificrepair may be less definite; in such an example, a maximum or minimumvalue of the repair may be provided as a quote 3308 instead. Forexample, in some embodiments, a maximum or upper-bound value may beprovided to the user as a quote 3308, with the final invoice provided tothe user potentially being smaller than the value provided; this mayallow a user to determine whether the maximum potential cost of a repairis within their budget. In other embodiments, a minimum or lower-boundvalue may be provided to the user as a quote 3308, with the finalinvoice to the user being at least the stated value; this may allow auser to shop around to determine whether they can potentially have therepair work completed elsewhere at a lower cost, or whether they shouldseek alternatives to repair such as replacement of the vehicle.

A dashboard interface 3300 may also provide a more detailed breakdown3310 of any quote 3308 provided to an administrator or user. Forexample, in an exemplary embodiment, a dashboard interface 3300 mayprovide a total time needed to complete the repair; for example, in anexemplary embodiment, the detailed breakdown 3310 may show that aparticular repair may take around 1.700 hours to complete. This may beused as an indication of the number of hours that may be billed to thecustomer as labor. In an exemplary embodiment, different rates may becharged for different types of labor, or the labor of different workers;these distinctions may also be shown in the detailed breakdown 3310, ifavailable and if desired. In an exemplary embodiment, the estimated timethat the repair may take to complete may also be used for scheduling atime in which the repair may be completed; for example, in an exemplaryembodiment wherein a particular repair is expected to take just undertwo hours to complete, a customer may be able to schedule the repair ina two-hour-long timeslot.

A dashboard interface 3300 may also provide an option to purchase one ormore parts 3312 that may be necessary for the repair. In an exemplaryembodiment, an auto repair quote system may estimate what parts will benecessary in order to complete a repair, and may then provide anadministrator or user with an option to order the parts 3312. In anexemplary embodiment, an option to order the parts 3312 may be may beprovided as a selectable button or other selectable option that, whenselected, causes the one or more parts estimated to be necessary inorder to complete the repair to be automatically ordered from one ormore vendors by the auto repair quote system. In another embodiment, anoption to order the parts 3312 may, when selected, provide a user withan interface through which they can order the one or more parts. Thismay allow the user to verify that the parts offered for sale are thecorrect parts needed for the repair and are not mislabeled, and mayallow the user to forego ordering one or more parts if the parts areavailable, for example if the parts are available on the vehicle to berepaired and are salvageable. In an exemplary embodiment, parts ordering3312 may also be integrated with scheduling; for example, in anexemplary embodiment, if parts have been ordered and are expected toarrive three days from the present day, a customer may only have theoption to schedule an appointment after the three-day time period haspassed.

Turning now to exemplary FIG. 33C, an exemplary dashboard interface 3300may feature an alternative embodiment of a parts ordering system 3314.According to an exemplary embodiment, instead of first being prompted toorder one or more parts, as in FIG. 33B, a user may first be prompted toselect a parts vendor 3314. In an exemplary embodiment, the partsvendors that are displayed to the user as potential selections may be apreselected list of parts vendors, for example the most major partsvendors in operation or parts vendors most commonly purchased from, orparts vendors with which the shop has some kind of relationship. Inanother exemplary embodiment, the parts vendors that are displayed tothe user may be, for example, parts vendors that are known to carry allof the parts that may be needed to complete the repair, or that areknown to carry one or more of the parts that may be needed to completethe repair. Other part vendors may also be displayed to the user, asdesired.

Once a user has selected one or more of the parts vendors 3314, the usermay be taken to a screen on which they can purchase one or more of theparts needed for the repair, such as a part vendor storefront;alternatively, the parts may be automatically ordered from the selectedpart vendor.

According to an exemplary embodiment, once the user has selected one ormore of the parts vendors 3314, the user may be taken to a portal of theone or more parts vendors 3314 that they have selected. In an exemplaryembodiment, this portal may be opened in a new browser window or browsertab of the user, such that the dashboard interface 3300 remains open.The exemplary dashboard interface 3300 may store the user's credentials,and may store data regarding one or more parts that the user hasselected or which are necessary to complete a repair that the user hasselected. When the user accesses the portal of the one or more partsvendors 3314, the exemplary dashboard interface 3300 may automaticallypopulate the user's credentials, as well as the part information, intothe portal of the one or more parts vendors 3314. In an exemplaryembodiment, this may be performed in semi-real-time, such that the usercan see each form field in the portal being sequentially populated bythe dashboard interface 3300. In an exemplary embodiment, the user'scredentials may be auto-populated into the portal of the one or moreparts vendors 3314, and then the specific part information and inquirythat the user had made to the dashboard interface 3300 may be portedover, in that order, in order to generate inventory and price quoteinformation from the part vendor 3314. The user may then have theopportunity to order the part or parts from the interface of the one ormore parts vendors 3314.

Such an embodiment may be illustrated in exemplary FIG. 34. According toexemplary FIG. 34, when a user selects one of the one or more partsvendors, they may be directed to the portal 3400 of the parts vendor3314, which may be opened in a new browser tab or new browser window,such as may be desired. According to an exemplary embodiment, the user'slogin information 3402 may then be entered into the portal 3400 insemi-real-time; in some exemplary embodiments this may include a visibletext cursor. In an exemplary embodiment, the dashboard interface 3300may then complete login 3404 and proceed immediately to a screen whereit can enter part information. In another exemplary embodiment, theremay be one or more intermediate manual steps, on one or more of theportals 3400 of one or more of the parts vendors 3314, such as may benecessary or may be desired.

According to an exemplary embodiment, such a method of automaticallypopulating credential and part information in the portal of the one ormore parts vendors 3314 from the dashboard interface 3300 may solve twodifferent problems. First, such a solution may save time in entry of thedata into the portal of the one or more parts vendors. Second, such asolution may ensure that data is not shared across websites in such aform as to allow it to be easily intercepted, enhancing user security.In certain embodiments, other information may be available and may beautomatically populated into the portal of the one or more parts vendors3314; for example, it may be desirable for a user of the dashboardinterface 3300 to have customers of their shop provide paymentinformation that can be used for ordering parts from the portal of theone or more parts vendors 3314, in order to ensure that the customerprovides payment for the part, and this information may be automaticallypopulated (and may benefit from enhanced security) as well.

According to an exemplary embodiment, once this information has beenpopulated, the user may then have the opportunity to order the part orparts from the interface of the one or more parts vendors 3314; however,in another exemplary embodiment, it may be desirable for the user tosource one or more parts from local vendors or local automotive serviceproviders (such as tires from a local tire shop) such that a repair canbe completed immediately, or so that the part can be inspected beforepurchase, or for another reason. In an exemplary embodiment, the usermay be provided with a comparison between parts that can be sourced fromlocal vendors and parts that can be sourced from the one or more partsvendors 3314 before the user makes a purchase.

Turning now to exemplary FIG. 35, an exemplary dashboard interface 3500may provide an administrator of an auto repair quote platform or otheruser with a list of quotes that have been provided by the auto repairquote platform in the past. Dashboard interface 3500 may include, forexample, a quote history 3502 listing some or all of the quotes that hadbeen previously issued to customers or other users of the auto repairquote platform. The quotes 3510 displayed in the quote history 3502 mayinclude, for example, a listing of the name of the shop that generatedthe quote, the date on which the quote was provided, the vehicle make,model, and/or year for which the quote was provided, the type of servicethat was requested for the vehicle in question, some or all of the textof the quote (for example, a summary of the quote text, or the firstline of the quote text, may be provided), a quote identification number,the dollar value of the quote, and a quote range. Other information,such as the identity of the requesting customer, may also be available,as a default option, as an enablable option, or upon request.

Exemplary dashboard interface 3500 may also include an option to filterquotes 3504 in the quote history 3502 by one or more criteria. Forexample, in an exemplary embodiment, quotes 3510 in the quote history3502 may be filtered by the date on which they were requested, such thatquotes 3510 in a particular date range 3506 are displayed to a user ofthe dashboard interface 3500 and other quotes 3510 are filtered out. Inan exemplary embodiment, a user may perform filtering by selecting orspecifying one or more criteria 3506 that will provide the basis forfiltering the data, and then selecting an option to filter the data3508. Quotes 3510 may also be selected automatically after a user inputsone or more selection criteria 3506 for the quotes 3510.

According to an exemplary embodiment, a quote 3510 may display with it aquote range. In an exemplary embodiment, a quote range may be derivedfrom similar quotes to the quote 3510 for which the quote range isdisplayed. For example, in an exemplary embodiment, a quote range may bederived from the quote history 3502; in an exemplary embodiment, thequote history may be filtered for quotes 3510 that are similar to or thesame as the quote 3510 for which range data has been requested. Inanother exemplary embodiment, a quote range may be derived from theshops of competitors or other shops, for example based on a userselecting a selectable “competitor quote” button or selectable option.For example, in an exemplary embodiment, an auto repair quote system mayautomatically poll one or more shops belonging to competitors in orderto obtain their rates for performing a particular service, and mayinclude the lowest-end estimate offered by a competitor's shop as alower bound of the quote range and the highest-end estimate offered by acompetitor's shop as an upper bound of the quote range. In an exemplaryembodiment, auto repair quote system may distinguish“no-strings-attached” competitor quotes from “conditional” competitorquotes, with “no-strings-attached” competitor quotes being unconditionalquotes and “conditional” competitor quotes being available only tocustomers who meet some condition (for example, being a new customer),and may exclusively search for the former or may specifically identifythe latter when constructing a quote range.

Turning now to exemplary FIG. 36, an exemplary dashboard interface 3600may provide an administrator of an auto repair quote platform or otheruser with a list of past user activity of the auto repair quote system.For example, in an exemplary embodiment, an exemplary dashboardinterface may provide information about the users of the auto repairquote system 3602, for example the number of users who have used theauto repair quote system, the number of users who have used the autorepair quote system in a particular period of time, the number of userswho have previously used the auto repair quote system and are nowreturning to use it again, the number of new users or new customers, orthe number of users who are currently logged in or who are otherwisecurrently using the auto repair quote system. In some exemplaryembodiments, users may be identified or identifiable, may be identifiedby the type of user that they are (for example, shop owner or customer),or may be anonymized, as desired.

Exemplary dashboard interface 3600 may also include information aboutthe activities of the one or more user 3602, for example users that haveinteracted with the auto repair quote system in some meaningful way. Forexample, an exemplary dashboard interface 3600 may provide a log ofwhich users have logged into and interacted with the auto repair quotesystem; this log may include, for example, the type of user that hasinteracted with the system 3606 (or, in some embodiments, the identityof the user that has interacted with the system), as well as informationabout the nature of their interaction with the system 3604. Informationabout the nature of each user's interaction with the system 3604 mayinclude, for example, the date of interaction, the type of device ordevice ID (IP or MAC address, etc.) that was used to interact with thesystem, the approximate location (for example, the ZIP code) of theuser, as well as information about any services that the user requestedor any other changes of importance that the user may have made. Forexample, in an exemplary embodiment, a user accessing the auto repairquote system may be identified as a shop owner, may have accessed theauto repair quote system on Friday, May 27, 2016, via a PC, from an IPaddress corresponding to a ZIP code of 34684, may have accessed the autorepair quote system in order to select a service to be completed by oneor more of the shops on the auto repair quote system, and may haveidentified the specific type of service to be completed (a power windowswitch passenger replacement). Other interactions may be shown asessentially blank, which may indicate that a user was browsing the sitewithout requesting a service.

Turning now to exemplary FIG. 37, an exemplary dashboard interface 3700showing an exemplary user profile page may be displayed. According to anexemplary embodiment, some or all of the users of a dashboard interface,such as administrators, shop owners or even customers, may have apersistent user profile associated with an account that providesidentifying information or custom settings, or other information, asdesired. Under a personal settings heading 3702, a user may be able toset certain information 3704, such as a name, an address, or certaincontact information associated with the user. In another exemplaryembodiment, a user may opt to, and may have the option to, remainanonymous apart from the information that the user supplies to log in.Under a security setting heading 3706, a user may be able to set orchange certain security information, such as a password associated withtheir user account. In an exemplary embodiment, a user may also be ableto add, edit, or delete saved credential information for one or moreportals of one or more parts vendors under a security setting heading3706.

The foregoing description and accompanying figures illustrate theprinciples, preferred embodiments and modes of operation of theinvention. However, the invention should not be construed as beinglimited to the particular embodiments discussed above. Additionalvariations of the embodiments discussed above will be appreciated bythose skilled in the art.

Therefore, the above-described embodiments should be regarded asillustrative rather than restrictive. Accordingly, it should beappreciated that variations to those embodiments can be made by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention asdefined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for providing auto repair quotes,comprising: (a) storing a platform of providers with firm quotes in adatabase, the platform of providers with firm quotes comprising aplurality of service provider profiles, each of the plurality of serviceprovider profiles associated with at least one of a plurality ofautomotive service providers, each of the plurality of service providerprofiles comprising at least one service provided by the automotiveservice provider and quote information provided by the automotiveservice provider and corresponding to the at least one service, (b)receiving a service request from a customer identifying a selectedservice; (c) processing the service request, the processing comprisingdetermining if there is quote information corresponding to theidentified service and one or more automotive service provider, and ifso displaying said quote information; (d) receiving a customer-selectedautomotive service provider; (e) booking a service appointment at thecustomer-selected automotive service provider for the identified servicerequest; and (f) ordering one or more parts from at least one partssupplier, wherein the step of ordering one or more parts from at leastone parts supplier comprises: automatically retrieving part informationon the one or more parts from a server; purchasing the one or moreparts; and directing the one or more parts to the customer-selectedautomotive service provider; wherein automatically retrieving partinformation, purchasing the one or more parts, and directing the one ormore parts are performed based on receipt of the customer-selectedautomotive service provider, and are performed without further actionfrom the customer-selected automotive service provider.
 2. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein each stored service is selected from a setof predefined services.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein eachstored service is associated with at least one of a particular make,model, and year of automobile.
 4. The method according to claim 1,wherein the service request from a customer further includes at leastone of the make, model, and year of an automobile.
 5. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein a step of navigating to a web portal of atleast one parts supplier is preceded by creating a new instance of thebrowser.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: maintaining, anaggregator database of updated available service provider appointmentdata that is associated with and individual to each automotive serviceprovider, wherein maintaining the database comprises: receivingscheduling information for an automotive service provider, saidautomotive service provider scheduling information being provided in theform of available unfilled timeslots and automotive service provideroperating hours, storing in the aggregator database, the receivedautomotive service provider scheduling information, and associating thereceived automotive service provider scheduling information with anautomotive service provider, receiving new automotive service providerscheduling information, and updating the available service providerappointment data in the aggregator database by modifying at least oneunfilled timeslot to a filled timeslot.
 7. The method according to claim6, wherein the new automotive service provider scheduling informationreceived indicates a booked appointment.
 8. The method according toclaim 6, wherein the filled timeslot indicates a booked appointment. 9.The method of claim 1, wherein the step of processing the servicerequest comprises: generating, from the stored automotive serviceprovider scheduling information, a plurality of individual start times,and displaying the plurality of individual start times; and receiving acustomer-selected start time.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein thestep of booking the service appointment comprises booking the serviceappointment at the customer-selected start time and further comprises:receiving a customer address for an electronic communication, sending anelectronic communication providing information on the appointment, andupdating the available service provider appointment data in theaggregator database by modifying at least one unfilled timeslot to afilled timeslot.
 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein thefilled timeslot indicates a booked appointment.